Stretching Limits
by Lucky Charm 911
Summary: Riley has healed after the torment she went through, but what happens when a letter arives that shakes Josef to his core and changes both of their lives. this is a sequel to Breaking the rules... Josef OC read and review
1. Prologue

A/N: First off, to all of my readers, thank you! To everyone who read Breaking the Rules, I am sorry that it has taken me this long to get to this point. I have started this story probably 10 times over the past few years and have not been able to make it past chapter 1. I have already made it farther than that, so hopefully this time around it will stick. I am happy with what I have done so far and hope that you like it as well. Please leave reviews and let me know what you think. However keep in mind that I do not consider myself an all-star writer and am doing this purely for fun. The characters will probably be OOC. If you choose to read this you are accepting that fact and I am hoping that comments about how out of character they are will not show up in the comments. I am aware of this and am choosing to write the story any ways!

Now that my rant is over, please enjoy the story and I look forward to your reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Moonlight world. Riley and those that are not recognized from the show are mine and I would appreciate it if you did not take them without asking! Enjoy!

Prologue

3:00 in the afternoon. Not a time I was hoping to see. I lay in bed for another ten minutes before I realized that falling back to sleep was not going to happen. I made my way into the library and out to the balcony that held one of the most amazing views of the city. I had long since become used to sleeping while the rest of the world was awake.

I watched as a storm made its way across the city. It would reach the house soon, but I still probably had a little while before it got here. I wasn't ready to back into the house. The dreams that woke me up had not been entirely forgotten. There was probably always going to be a piece of me that couldn't move on from what had happened 10 months ago.

My welcome to the world that surrounds us all came in the form of me walking in on Josef, my boss and the love of my life, feeding. Until that point, vampires were still the stuff of myths. But as Josef looked me in the eye for the first time with blood dripping from his mouth, my life changed. It wasn't long after that incident that I was kidnapped by a former employee of Josef's and tortured. I came within probably 5 minutes of being killed inside the inferno that was my prison cell. Josef came into the room and pulled me out of the blazing house just in time.

From that moment on, I knew that I was head over heels in love with Josef. It had taken a long time for Josef to realize and admit to his feelings but somehow, we made it to this point. I have been living with Josef for almost 9 months. Those 9 months had been the best of my life. Josef and I grew closer and closer every day. Beth and Mick were the older siblings that I had never had growing up. These three people were my entire family now. I didn't know what I would do without them.

The rain came and I made my way back into the house. I was walking through the library when Josef came through the door leading to my room. He smiled at me and my heart melted. I walked over to him and he pulled me into his arms. We walked back into my room and lay down. Josef pulled me closer to his body as I drifted back off to sleep.

The nursing staff rushed into the room as the monitor started to beep. The girl's heart rate was dropping. The staff tried to revive her but the girl didn't respond to anything they did. The monitors were turned off as the girl died. The doctor looked up as the maid of the house walked into the room.

"He won't be happy about this. You will alert him as soon as possible, right?" The maid nodded, grief written on her face. She was not looking forward to writing this letter, she knew he would not be happy to receive it.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Well I hope that you all like this chapter. I was pretty happy with how it turned out! Please leave a review to let me know what you think. I will have the next chapter up soon! Also, just so my reader know, this chapter is longer than what I tend to write so don't get used to chapters being this long! I will try to keep the length up but I make no guarantees.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Moonlight world. Riley and those that are not recognized from the show are mine and I would appreciate it if you did not take them without asking! Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I was far to rushed this morning. I wish I could have taken the time to enjoy the hot water from the shower, but I had something to do today that could not wait. I turned off the water and stepped from the shower. I grabbed one of the towels off of the rack and wrapped it around my body. I started on my hair right away; it always took so long to make it manageable.

As I was drying my hair, I thought back to how amazing the last few months had been. Josef really was all I could ask for. Our first Christmas together was coming up. Two days until Christmas. It would be a green Christmas, something that I had not accepted even in my 7 years of living in LA. Christmas in Seattle was always white. I still wake up Christmas morning and expect to see a blanket of snow covering the ground.

I went back to focusing on getting ready. My hair dry, I went back into my room. I quickly slipped on a pair of jeans and a light sweater. I slipped on my shoes and went back into the bathroom. I put on a little bit of makeup and looked at myself in the mirror. Pleased with what I saw, I went back into my room to grab my coat and bag.

I heard a small knock on the door as I reached the bottom of the stairs. The door pushed open as Beth let herself in. We grabbed a few last things and made our way into the city. Both of us still needed to buy presents for the men so we hit a few different stores. Eventually I went separate ways from Beth so that I could finish her and Mick's present. Josef and I had set them up with a vacation to Rome for a month and I had to finalize all of our plans. I wondered down the street, hoping to find something that would be good enough for me to give to Josef.

I wondered around downtown for almost 45 minutes before I found the perfect store. It was an old bookstore, one that I had read about before but completely forgotten about until just now. The store focused on collecting one of kind pieces, first editions, manuscripts, signed copies, ect. The library off of my room was one of our favorite places in Josef's home. There had to be something that I could find for him in here.

I looked through the shelves, through row after row of books. Nothing in here seemed like it would be good enough. I had to find the perfect gift, something that could convey how much he meant to me, how much I owed him. There had to be something.

I was starting to feel hopeless when I stumbled upon a collection of Jane Austin's work. I had been surprised when Josef had mentioned that Pride and Prejudice was his favorite of her books. He told me this when I had first moved in with him. We had been walking on eggshells around each other and this was one of the things that we could talk about easily. Since then, we had both read the book multiple times. His current copy, printed in the 1950's, was starting to look a little worse for wear and some pages were starting to fall out.

As I started to thumb through the titles, I found it. I pulled out a notebook that contained a manuscript of Pride and Prejudice. I opened the book and saw what looked to be one of Austin's handwritten manuscripts, including her notes in the margins. It appeared to be in excellent condition. Happy with my find, I also got a newer copy of the book, knowing that both of us would want to read the book again and the copy we had just wouldn't cut it. Left the store thrilled with what I had found.

Beth and I met back up and grabbed a late lunch. We finished making our plans for Christmas Eve and said our goodbyes. She had to get back to work, and I wanted to be home when Josef woke up. It was almost 4 o'clock when I made it back to the house. I took my purchases into my room.

I wandered back down to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine. I spent the next few hours wrapping all of the presents that Josef and I had picked up for Mick and Beth. I was just finishing when a pair of hands wrapped themselves around my waist. I took a deep breath and inhaled Josef's scent. I felt my body relax into his arms. I turned to look into his eyes.

"Hello Love. How was your day?" He smiled at me. He really was perfect, I don't know how I became so lucky. I filled him in on my time spent with Beth and my successful day of shopping. He kissed me and then excused himself to go and get ready for work. I was making him take Christmas Eve and Christmas off so he had been spending extra time at work making sure everything would be ready for his two days off.

I wandered downstairs to get myself dinner. He joined me for a few minutes before leaving for the office. I spent the rest of the night getting ready for Christmas Eve, which was tomorrow. I had chosen to decorate the house on my own. I didn't want the house staff to do the decorating for our first Christmas together. I intended for it to be special for both of us.

It was almost 3 in the morning when I had finished decorating the house. I had gotten an early start that morning in order to finish up my shopping and was now exhausted. I was hoping that I would be able to make it until Josef came home from the office, but it didn't look like that would be possible at this point.

I wandered upstairs and found myself outside of Josef's room. I let myself in and walked over to his dresser. I pulled open the top drawer and pulled out one of the few t-shirts that he owned. He didn't wear it very often, but it still smelled like him.

I walked down the hall to my room and pulled the t-shirt on. After washing my face and getting ready for bed I climbed into bed, glad that even though Josef wasn't there, I could still feel like he was there holding me.

-  
It was almost noon when I woke up on Christmas Eve. I rolled over and heard the crinkling of paper under my hand. I reached over and saw the note from Josef.

_My love, the house looks amazing. It was nice to come home this morning and see that you had put so much effort into today. You truly are amazing and I don't know how I got so lucky. Have a wonderful afternoon and I will see you closer to twilight. Also, I talked to Mick and he and Beth should be here around 7:30. I love you, Josef._

I smiled at the last sentence. I thought back to the first time he told me he loved me. It had been one of the best days of my life. I knew it was hard for him to say, but even though he was nervous, it was still perfect. Every time he told me he loved me, my heart swelled. It made me endlessly happy.

I kept myself busy for most of the day either reading or working out. Beth called late in the afternoon and we met for a cup of coffee. After that short break, I was back at the house making sure that dinner would be ready on time. I spent a few hours making sure that dinner was going as planned and that the house looked as I intended.

It was 6 o'clock and I knew that Josef would be waking up soon. However, Beth and Mick would also be here in a little over an hour and I had to get ready. I left the maid instructions to check on the food at around 6:45 and walked up to my bathroom. I turned on the shower and stepped into the hot water. I let it work out all of the tightness in my back and then quickly washed my hair.

I quickly dried my hair and put on my dress. When I was ready I walked back downstairs and into the kitchen. Josef was standing at the counter with his back to me. He was dressed in a black suit. Even now the blonde vampire took my breath away. He was beautiful.

He turned around and smiled at me. "You look beautiful, Ry, absolutely beautiful. The house looks great as well." He walked towards me as he said this and ended with a kiss on my nose. He reached passed me to the stereo and pushed play. Sounds of Josef playing the piano filled the room. He took me in his arms and we danced in the kitchen as the music played.

After we had been dancing for a few minutes, there was a knock at the door, followed by Mick and Beth appearing in the entryway to the kitchen. Beth broke away from Mick and she and I made our way into the living room to talk, leaving the men alone.

After dinner, I led everyone out onto the balcony. There were chairs and champagne set up outside and we all made our way outside. "Dinner was wonderful, Riley. And the house looks amazing. I will have to have you come over and decorate our apartment next year. I just never seem to find the time." Beth laughed as she spoke, but Riley could tell that she was serious. Riley knew that Beth had been working more than ever at Buzz Wire and she was seeming less and less enthralled by her work. Beth had complained to Riley about her new boss more than once.

Josef stood up and made a toast. Riley was about to suggest they go inside when Mick stopped her. "Could you hold on just a minute Riley. I have something I wanted to do with all of us here." Mick stood up and walked over to Beth. "Beth, since the day I met you, I knew that you were an amazing person. You are unique and special and you make me feel alive." Riley looked over and caught Beth's eye. Her friend looked like she was in shock. Riley smiled at her and she turned her eye back to Mick. "You already know that you have my heart for forever, but I was hoping that you would do me the honor of being mine forever. Beth, Will you marry me?"

Beth looked into Mick's eyes and smiled. Riley could tell that she was fighting back tears. Beth shook her head and whispered yes. Mick stood up and scooped Beth into his arms. He kissed her and slipped the ring that he had in his pocket on her finger.

Riley walked over to Josef and wrapped her arms around him. She smiled and sighed as he kissed the top of her head. This moment was perfect. She wanted to stay like this for as long as possible.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I am really happy with how this chapter came out! Hopefully all of you like it as well and will leave me reviews! I love getting my readers feedback so please leave me a review!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Moonlight world. Riley and those that are not recognized from the show are mine and I would appreciate it if you did not take them without asking! Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Christmas morning. Last night had been absolutely perfect. I still couldn't believe that Josef hadn't told me Mick was going to purpose. The look of absolute happiness on Beth's face stands out from everything last night. They left not long after the proposal and Josef and I had spent the rest of the night alone. The night was absolutely amazing. I thanked my lucky stars every night I was able to spend with Josef and last night had been no different.

It was 4pm when I finally dragged myself out of bed. I knew I still had a few hours until Josef woke up, so I made my way to the gym to work out. Running had become a huge form of stress relief since I moved in with Josef. I was normally up earlier than he was and this provided me with something to pass the time.

I had just finished my 5 miles when I heard the door to the gym open. I smiled as Josef walked in. "You're up earlier than normal."

"I'm on my way out to the back house and saw that you were still in here. I wanted a kiss before I ate." I was going to say something about just skipping going out back but his lips were covering mine before I could respond. As he pulled away I felt a moan escape, receiving a smile from Josef. "I'll be back in just a minute love. Don't go anywhere." With that he let go of my waist and walked out of the room.

I followed his lead and walked back into the main part of the house. I found myself in the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee. I took my coffee and made my way back to my room. As I was letting myself into the room, I heard Josef's phone ring down in his room. I walked down and picked up the phone. _What on earth is Mick doing awake at this hour. I still can't believe Josef is up, let alone both of them. _"Hi Mick. Merry Christmas."

"Hey Riley. Is Josef there by chance?"

"He just stepped out to eat. Is there something that I can do for you, Mick?"

"Not at the moment. I really need to talk to Josef about something. Can you have him call me when he gets back in the house? It's important."

"Yeah no problem. Congratulations again hun. I am really happy for both of you. Tell Beth I will call her later."

"Thanks Riley and I will let Beth know." The phone in my hand went dead. I set it down and walked back into my room. No sooner had I sat down on my bed than I looked up to see Josef walking in.

"I thought I told you not to move?" Although he was attempting to sound angry, the glint in his eyes assured me he was joking. I laughed as he stood there trying to look upset.

"Well you know me, I never did listen well." I said this as I walked over to where he stood at the door. I wrapped my arms around him and brought his head down so that our lips met. One hand wrapped itself around my waist to pull me closer while the other tangled itself in my hair. I felt myself moan as he pulled me against his body, eliciting a moan from him. He pushed me back onto my bed as we both heard his phone ringing in the other room.

He pulled away slightly and sighed. I smiled up at him. "That's probably Mick. He called just a minute ago and I told him I would have you call when you came back in. Do make sure to mention that the delay in calling him back was your fault for distracting me, not mine." He growled playfully as he pushed himself off of the bed and walked into his room.

Josef let himself back into the room just a minute later. "I am going to kill Mick. Apparently he needs me over there now, so we will have to continue with this when I get back." He smiled and went to get dressed. I let myself fall back onto my bed and laughed slightly. Josef poked his head back into the room to tell me he was leaving and then I was alone. I stood up and went to take a bath.

-Josef's POV-

I let myself into Mick's apartment and poured myself a drink. I heard him come down the stairs as I made my way back into the living room. "Where's Blondie?" Mick smiled and went to get himself a drink. We both sat down in the living room while I waited for him to tell me what I was doing here. We sat there in silence for about 5 minutes until he finally looked up at me again.

"Beth went to visit a cousin that lives on the other side of the city. We got home last night and while we were talking she asked me to change her. She's brought it up before, but I could always tell that she wasn't quite ready. Well, with us getting married now, last night was different. She wasn't nervous when she brought it up. She just came flat out and asked me to change her. She said she didn't see any point in waiting. She isn't going to let this go, Josef, and I don't know if I can do it. I've never… no one has ever… I don't know if I can do it." Mick looked at me and I could tell that he was really shaken.

"Mick, there is nothing that I can tell you that will make this easier for you. You and I both knew that this was coming at some point and I am not at all surprised that it happened last night after you purposed. You know that you really only have two options. Either you can try and you take the risk, and if it helps at all I think that you can do it, or you find someone else that will change her. I somehow don't think that Beth is going to be happy with the second option. We both know that she is expecting you to do it. What happened to Sarah and I, it doesn't happen that often. Beth has spent more time in our world, and I think she will be just fine." Mick looked at me and I could tell that he was trying to process everything. However, his next question took me completely by surprise.

"Will you change Riley when she asks you?" I looked at Mick, slightly startled. Riley had never said the words out loud but I could tell that she had been thinking about that very thing.

"Honestly, I don't know what I will do when Riley brings it up. I couldn't stand watching what happened to Sarah happen to Ry. But I will probably do whatever she wants, just because I can' deny her anything. Look, why don't you and Beth come over to the house for dinner tonight. Riley will know what is going on with the two of you soon enough and I might as well get it out in the open as soon as possible."

-Riley POV-

Josef had been gone nearly all day when I heard the front door open. I walked into the entry way and smiled when Mick and Beth followed Josef into the house. "This is a surprise. I will let Anna know that we are having guests." I turned around and made my way back into the kitchen. When I alerted the kitchen staff to the extra people, I grabbed a glass of wine for myself and Beth and walked into the living room.

When we were all sitting I noticed that Mick kept looking over at Josef. I glanced at Beth but she didn't seem to notice. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Mick cleared his throat.

"Riley, I am sure you are a little confused as to what's going on. We felt it only fair to include you in this conversation. This morning, Beth asked me to change her." I glanced over at Beth, she seemed a little surprised that this was the topic of conversation that Mick and Josef were choosing, but she seemed willing enough to go along with it. "We wanted you to be a part of it, Riley, because you don't know everything that Beth and I do." Mick looked at a loss as to where he should go from there. He glanced at Josef and then back at me. Josef seemed to take this as a sign that he should take over.

"Riley, about 50 years ago, I attempted to change a woman that I was in love with. Beth and Mick have both seen the consequences of that attempt." Josef looked down at the ground for a minute. This was one of the only times that I had ever seen Josef look visually upset, the other when he rescued me earlier in the year. "She asked me to turn her so we could be together. I drained most of her blood, and then I fed her my blood. Everything seemed to have gone okay, except she never woke up. She has been in a coma since then. She is in New York. I don't think she will ever wake up, but I haven't been able to take her off of life support. That is a large reason for why Mick has been as hesitant as he is with changing Beth. I know you haven't asked to be changed, but I felt like you deserved to know why it was so hard for both Mick and I to fully accept that this was an option." I knew that my face probably betrayed my emotions. I never expected Josef to admit to loving anyone, it was hard at times for him to even say the words to me. I didn't know what to say, so I chose to keep my mouth shut at the moment.

No one pushed me to respond to what I had learned that night. Everyone could tell that I was overwhelmed and slightly in shock. We ate dinner as the sun was coming up. Mick and Beth were getting ready to leave when Josef's butler, Alexander, brought a letter into the living room.

"The just arrived for you, sir." He set the letter down next to Josef and walked out of the room. Josef picked up the letter and tore open the seal. I watched as a series of emotions, so uncharacteristically, played over Josef's face. The letter fell from Josef's hand as he stared straight ahead. I walked over to where he was and picked up the letter. I read it to Mick and Beth.

_Mr. Kostan- I am sorry that I have to write this letter. While the doctors assure us that they did everything they could for her, Ms. Sarah passed away earlier today. We will make arrangements for her funeral here in New York. I am sorry for your loss._

I looked back at Josef and watched as a tear escaped the corner of his eye. 


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Moonlight world. Riley and those that are not recognized from the show are mine and I would appreciate it if you did not take them without asking! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

It has been 24 hours since the letter arrived and changed all of our lives. We had all hoped that if given some time, he would grieve and that things would stay somewhat normal. He had barely moved from the living room in the last day. Mick and Beth had been here as much as possible, but they both needed sleep.

I had been trying to keep myself together. Josef hadn't even looked at me since we read the letter. I knew that he was upset and shaken up, but I hadn't thought he would push me away. I was at a loss as to what I should do. I knew that Josef had to be getting tired at this point. He hadn't slept at all in almost 36 hours now. I tried to get him to go upstairs but he didn't even respond.

I turned away and walked to the library. I made my way out onto the patio and sat down in one of the chairs out there. There was a clap of thunder in the distance. There was a storm on the way but it wouldn't be here for at least 45 minutes. I stared off into the distance, wishing that I could rewind the clock back to yesterday when things were still normal.

The rain started to fall as I sat there. I couldn't stop it any longer and I let the tears come as the rain poured down on me. I sat in the rain until all of my tears had drained. When I couldn't cry any longer, I pulled myself off of the ground and into my bathroom. I stepped into the hot water and tried to scrub the last few days away.

When my skin was rubbed raw, I got out of the shower, got dressed, and went back down stairs to check on Josef. He still hadn't moved. I walked over to the store of blood he kept in the house for Mick and poured him a glass. I walked back over and sat the glass down in front of him.

"Josef, you have to eat something. You need to sleep." I looked at him, waiting for some response, any movement to show me that he was still in there. I sighed when there was no response. "Josef, I need you to tell me what to do. I don't what to do for you. I cannot just continue to sit here and watch you suffer. You're killing yourself and I cannot just let that happen. I know that I should be the strong one here, but I don't know what to do. I've never seen you like this and it scares me. I need my Josef back. I need to know that everything is going to be okay. I need to know that you are going to be okay, I need to know that we are going to be okay. Please, Josef, just give me something. I love you." I watched him for a few more minutes before making up my mind.

I called Mick and asked him to come over and stay with Josef for a while. I needed to get out of the house and was hoping I could spend some time with Beth. He told me that he would come over and keep an eye on Josef. I went up to pack an overnight bag, hoping that some time away would help both of us. I went back downstairs and set my bag by the door. I walked over to the living room and kneeled down in front of Josef.

I was surprised when he looked up at me. I started to say something, but he cut me off. "You say that you need some confirmation that we are going to be okay. You tell me that you love me and you need me to be okay. You want to know what I need. I need you to leave, just get out." I was surprised, but since that is what I had planned on doing anyway, I wasn't too upset.

"I'm going over to Mick and Beth's apartment. Mick should be here soon to keep you company. I am only planning on spending tonight over there, I will be home tomorrow."

"You don't get it. I want you to leave. Get out of my house. I want you to leave and not come back. I don't love you Riley. I don't want you here. I want you out of my life." His words cut more than I thought possible. But at the same time I knew that he was just upset. I knew that he was grieving and I knew that this was the only way to get him back to how he had been before.

"I don't believe you, Josef. You're upset right now. You have lost someone that is important to you. I am going to leave for now, but I will be back. I am not walking out on us." I was shocked when he looked back at me. His eyes were white and I could see his teeth poking out from under his lip. He let out a low growl and stood up.

Terrified, I fell backwards onto the floor. He had always made sure that he kept his composure around me. Even while he was this lost in grief, I didn't think he would turn on me like this. He reached down and took a hold of my arm. I cried out as he lifted me by my arm to stand in front of him. He dragged me to the door, picked up my bag in his other hand, and shoved me out of the door. I landed next to my bag on the cement in front of his house.

When I looked back up at the door, it had already closed. He had shut me out of his life. I pulled myself to a standing position, stepping gingerly on my left leg, which had taken the brunt of the fall. I hurt to put pressure on it, but not enough so that I couldn't make it to the car.

When I got into my car, I pulled out my phone. I looked through my contacts and found the name I was looking for. I hit send and pulled my car out of the garage. I hit the road when the phone was answered.

"Riley? What's going on, if everything okay?" I could hear the concern in his voice. It was so good to hear his voice. I hadn't talked to him in so long.

"Hey Parker, yeah it's me. It's good to hear your voice. I'm not doing so well right now. Can I come stay with you for a few days?" I didn't know if he would say yes or not, but I hoped he would let me come.

"Yeah, of course you can come. How long will it take you to get here? Never mind, it doesn't matter. Just get here as soon as you can, I'll be home whenever you can get here." I hung up the phone after that. I needed to call Beth and Mick, let them know what had happened, but I wasn't ready to relive it yet. I would call them tomorrow, when I had had a chance to sleep. For now, I just had to make it to Parker's house in one piece.


End file.
